1999 Fiesta Bowl

In TheSportsNotebook’s tour of the modern era (1976-Present) looking for the best sports cities in any individual year, I’ve stuck with a consistent ground rule. A team’s championships must take place within a one sports calendar year, which runs from the Final Four through the Super Bowl. 1999 makes it tough to adhere strictly to that rule and still choose an area that experienced at least one championship. Hence, I’m going to cheat a little bit. TheSportsNotebook will honor the state of Tennessee—they got the Titans to the Super Bowl that year, but for our championship, we’re sneaking in college football and the Tennessee Volunteers. January 4, 1999 saw the Vols seal a national title run that’s in the books for the 1998 schedule. So let’s look back on what it was to root for the Vols and Titans through the falls of 1998-99.